www.ccsenet.org/jas Journal of Agricultural Science Vol. 3, No.

1; March 2011

Spectral Characteristics and Mapping of Rice Plants Using

Multi-Temporal Landsat Data
I Wayan Nuarsa (Corresponding author)
Faculty of Agriculture, Udayana University
Kampus Bukit Jimbaran 80361, Bali-Indonesia
Tel: 62-361-703-602 E-mail: nuarsa@ymail.com

Fumihiko Nishio
Center for Environmental Remote Sensing, Chiba University
1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi 263-8522, Japan
Tel: 81-043-290-3836 E-mail: fnishio@faculty.chiba-u.jp

Chiharu Hongo
Center for Environmental Remote Sensing, Chiba University
1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi 263-8522, Japan
Tel: 81-043-290-3859 E-mail: hongo@faculty.chiba-u.jp

The research is financed by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Ronpaku, Japan
Abstract
The visible band of Landsat ETM+ (Band 1, Band 2, and Band 3) showed a weak exponential relationship to rice
age; however, the reflective infrared band of Landsat ETM+ (Band 4 and B5) and the entire vegetation index
showed a strong exponential relationship to rice age. Rice Growth Vegetation Index (RGVI) developed in this
study is the best vegetation index compared to existing vegetation indices. The relationship between rice age and
RGVI has shown the highest determination coefficient (R2) of 0.9045. The RGVI then used to develop a model to
rice plant mapping. Quantitative comparison of the rice plant area between analysis results and reference data
showed a linear relationship, with the equation y = 0.920x - 3.841 and R = 0.971, where y is the rice plant area of
reference data, and x is the rice plant area of the analysis results of the Landsat ETM+. The standard error of this
estimation was 43.04 ha.
Keyword: Rice plant, Mapping, Landsat ETM+, Remote sensing
1. Introduction
Rice is one of the worlds major staple foods, and paddy rice fields account for approximately 15% of the
worlds arable land (IRRI 1993). In Indonesia, rice is one of the most important agricultural plants because rice
is the main food consumed by Indonesians. Food security has long been an important political goal in Indonesia,
and this goal is most commonly associated with rice self-sufficiency. In the mid-1980s, Indonesia briefly
achieved 100% self-sufficiency for rice; however, growth of rice production slowed in the 1990s, leading to an
increase in imports and a lower self-sufficiency ratio. The rice self-sufficiency ratio has remained around 95%
over the last two years, but it dropped below 90% during the El Nio drought of 1998 (Bappenas 2002).
To determine the potential for rice self-sufficiency, rice production must be estimated. Conventionally,
calculation of rice production is usually performed after harvest by collecting information from farmers. Another
way rice production can be determined involves taking a rice grain from a sample area and then converting it to
total of the harvest area. Both methods of rice production estimation are conducted during rice harvesting periods.
These methods frequently takes a long time; therefore, it would be beneficial to gain information about rice
production more quickly prior to harvest to make better judgments related to rice self-sufficiency and rice import.
In addition, mapping of rice fields is important for management of water resources and estimation of gas
emissions (Xiao et al. 2005)

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Rice plants have specific land cover properties. Rice land coverage changes during the rice life circle. In
irrigated rice fields, almost all land coverage is dominated by water during the plantation period. As the rice ages,
rice vegetation coverage grows and reaches a maximum (rice age = 2 months) and then gradually decreases until
harvest time (Shao et al. 2001, Nuarsa et al. 2005).
Satellite remote sensing has been widely applied and has been recognised as a powerful and effective tool in
detecting land use and land cover changes (Ehlers et al. 1990, Meaille & Wald 1990, Treitz et al. 1992,
Westmoreland and Stow 1992, Harris and Ventura 1995, Yeh & Li 1999, Patil et al. 2003). Satellite remote
sensing provides both cost-effective multi-spectral and multitemporal data (Paine 1981). Satellite imagery has
been used to monitor discrete land cover types by spectral classification. Additionally, it has been utilised to
estimate biophysical characteristics of land surfaces via linear relationships with spectral reflectance or indices
(Steininger 1996, Nuarsa et al. 2007).
Studies using satellite imaging to monitor rice growth have been reported (Shao et al. 1997, Kuroso et al. 1997,
Le Toan at al. 1997, Panigrahy & Sharma 1997, Oette et al. 2000, Shao et al. 2001, David et al. 2004). Some of
this research has been used globally as along with moderate image resolution, such as National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (NOAA AVHRR) and Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), to monitor rice fields (Panigrahy et al. 1992, Fang et al. 1998,
Wataru et al. 2006, Xiao et al. 2005). However, the use of moderate and global spatial resolution of satellite
imaging has been restricted, particularly in small rice areas because many types of land cover appear in one pixel,
which reduces the accuracy of the assessment (Strahler et al. 2006). In contrast, utilisation of fine or medium
spatial resolution of satellite images, especially in session plants, has been limited because fewer images are
available during the 120-day rice growth period (Currey et al. 1987). Landsat ETM+ has a good temporal, spatial,
and spectral resolution for rice monitoring. The revisit time of Landsat ETM+ is 16 days with a spatial resolution
of 30 m. Landsat ETM+ has six bands with the same pixel size, and it has become beneficial in the development
of the algorithms for rice modelling (Christopher 2004).
The objectives of our study included the following: (1) to find out relationship between rice spectral and rice age;
(2) to develop a rice growth vegetation index (RGVI); (3) to map rice distribution and its age; and (4) to
quantitatively compare the rice plant area between the analysis result and reference data.
2. Methodology
2.1 Description of the study area
The study was conducted in the Tabanan Regency of the Province of Bali, Indonesia, centred at latitude
82946 S and longitude 1152948 E (Figure 1). The Tabanan Regency was selected for the study area
because Tabanan is the central production area of rice in Bali. The irrigated paddy rice area in Bali was not only
planted by the rice but also with other session agriculture plants, such as corn and soybeans. Rice planting in Bali
is coordinated by the social farmer organisation, namely Subak, and it is related to the management of water
resources. Each Subak usually consist of around 150 - 300 ha of paddy rice. In each Subak, farmers plant rice at
the same time; thus, identification of the agriculture rice area from space using remote sensing data, such as
Lantsat ETM+, may be easier. This study involved the use of three Subaks in three different districts, including
Bengkel Subak (Kediri district), Sungi Subak (Marga District), and Risaja Subak (Penebel District). Field
observation was done at 9 station points (Table 1).
The elevation of the study area ranged from 30 290 m asl. All rice plants observed were of the Ciherang rice
variety, with a life cycle of around 115 days and yields reaching 5.0 tons/ha.
2.2 Landsat image data
Landsat satellite images have 8 bands, including a thermal and a panchromatic band. In visible, near infrared and
middle infrared regions, Landsat ETM+ has 30-m spatial resolution. However, in thermal and panchromatic
regions, spatial resolutions are 60 m and 15 m, respectively. This study used both visible and reflectance
infrareds (Band-1 - 5 and band-7) of Landsat ETM+ (Table 2). Although the Landsat ETM+ used in this study
had the SLC off, considerations of better spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution of these images made it
relevant to use. With 16 days of temporal resolution, Landsat ETM+ was the ideal satellite image for rice
monitoring because rice has a growth circle length of only 115 days.
The total of amount of time series images that could be collected in one rice growth circle was approximately six
images at different acquisition dates. Some of the images could not be used due to cloud conditions or the
appearance of SLC-off on station points, which caused a reduced availability of images. Fortunately, our study
area was covered by two scenes of Landsat images in different paths. The Landsat images from two different

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years (2002 and 2005) used in this study are shown in Table 3. Landsat Images from 2005 were used for rice
modelling, and in 2002, they were utilised to apply the model for rice plant distribution mapping.
2.3 Data analysis
2.3.1 Radiometric corrections
In temporal analysis of the remote sensing data, radiometric corrections are the important part of the image
analysis. The digital number (DN) of the Landsat ETM+ at different acquisition dates was converted to the
corrected digital number (cDN) to eliminate the effect of the radiometric and atmospheric of images, so they had
comparable values. In this study, we used a simple radiometric correction model introduced by Pons &
Sol-Sugraes (1994). The form of the model is shown in the following equation:
(1)
(i) (if 250 < cDN 318.3; cDN = 254),
(ii) (if cDN > 318.3; cDN = 255),
(iii) (if s 0; Vc = 255),
where cDN is the corrected digital number, cDN is the conversion of the effective reflectance to the common
8-bit format of most image processors, and the output range of values was limited to between 0 and 255. Note
that a, Kl, S0, and 0 depend on the wavelength and have different values for each spectral band; Kl depends on
each image because it is related to atmospheric conditions; 0 and s depend on latitude, date, and time of the
satellite pass; s depends on the slope and aspect of each pixel; d depends on the date of the satellite pass; and v
depends on the sensor viewing angle. The parameter v is 1 in most cases of Landsat-ETM images because V is
0 at the nadir and has small values on the rest of the image Pons & Sol-Sugraes (1994)
Practically, to apply the algorithm above we only needed a DEM with good quality (altimetrically and
planimetrically) because the other parameters were known (e.g., S0) or could be inferred from images (e.g., Kl).
To avoid overcorrections and undercorrections on the ridges and channels and to account for local phenomena, it
was important to use a DEM with a planimetric resolution comparable to the geometric resolution of the image.
Naugle & Lashlee (1992) showed that a DEM of 95 m can be insufficient for a Landsat TM image over rugged
terrain. In this study, we derived a DEM from a topographical map with a spatial resolution of 30 m. The value
of parameters used in Equation 1 are shown in Table 3-4.
2.3.2 Calculating the relationship between rice spectral and rice age
Gathering cDN values from the Landsat pixels for the ninth site observation in of the entire rice growth period
was the next step of our data analysis. In each acquisition date of the Landsat images, pixel samples were taken
randomly in the ninth field observation site (Figure 1). The average value of the sample was used as a
representative cDN value in that acquisition date. The relationship between rice age and rice spectral was done
for both band spectral of Landsat ETM+ and vegetation index with the following equation:
y = f(x) (2)
where y is the rice age, and x is the rice spectral. Several vegetation indexes that were evaluated in the study are
shown in Table 5.
The relationship between rice age and both the cDN and vegetation index was evaluated using statistical
parameters, including determination coefficient (R2), level of significant value of analysis of variance (ANOVA),
and standard error of estimation. The highest R2, lowest significant value of ANOVA, and lowest standard error
of estimation of the relationship between rice age and Landsat spectral of rice was selected and used for rice
plant mapping model. The R2 and standard error of estimation (SE) was calculated using the following equation:

(3)

(4)
2.3.3 Development of a rice growth vegetation index (RGVI)
Theoretically, rice plants in normal conditions are the same, like vegetation in general. Chlorophyll pigments
that are present in leaves absorb red light. In the NIR portion, radiation is scattered by the internal spongy

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mesophyll leaf structure, which leads to higher values in NIR channels. This interaction between leaves and the
light that strikes them is often determined by their different responses in the red and NIR portions of reflective
light (Niel & McVicar 2001). In contrast, absorption properties of the middle infrared band cause a low
reflectance of rice plants in this channel (Lilliesand & Kiefer 1994). In irrigated rice fields, especially in early
transplanting periods, water environment plays an important role in rice spectral. The blue band of Landsat
ETM+ has good sensitivity to the existence of water; therefore, development of a rice growth vegetation index
(RGVI) in this study used the B1, B3, B4, and B5 of Landsat ETM+ with the following equation:

(5)

The equation above is then simplified as follow:

(6)
where RGVI is the rice growth vegetation index, and B1, B3, B4, B5, and B7 refer to the band of Landsat
ETM+.
2.3.4 Mapping rice plant and age
Mapping distribution of rice plants used at least two Landsat images from sequential acquisition dates, with the
following steps:
1. Converting the VI of the Landsat image to rice age using the best relationship equation between VI and rice
age for both Landsat images from sequential acquisition dates. This procedure produces two rice plant maps, aget
and aget+n.
2. Calculating the difference of rice plant age (age) with the equation below:
age = aget+n aget (7)
where age, aget and aget+n are maps of different rice plant ages from two sequential acquisition dates of Landsat
imaging, rice age map in t acquisition date, rice age map in t + n day acquisition date, respectively.
3. Calculating different days of sequential acquisition dates of Landsat image (t).
4. Comparing age and t. The pixels that satisfy with the following equation are classified as rice plants,
which include the standard error of calculation (SE).
age SE t age + SE (8)
Schematically, the research procedure used in this study is illustrated in the following flowchart.
2.3.5 Quantitative evaluation of rice plant area
Quantitative evaluation of rice plant area was performed by comparison of rice plant areas derived from analysis
of Landsat to rice plant areas from the reference data in district level comparison. The reference data was
obtained from the Statistic Center Agency of Tabanan Regency (BPS 2002). Rice plant area data were then
plotted in a chart to determine their relationship, R2, and standard error of the estimation.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Relationship between rice spectral and rice age
Based on statistical analysis, exponential was the best equation form to show the relationship between rice plant
spectral and rice age. Figure 3 shows an exponential relationship between rice age and rice cDN, whereas Figure
4 illustrates an exponential relationship between rice age and vegetation index. The best exponential relationship
between rice age and rice cDN was provided by Band 5, followed by Band 4 and Band 7 of Landsat ETM+, with
the determination coefficients (R2) 0.8999, 0.8254, and 0.6847, respectively. Visible bands (Band 1, Band 2, and
Band 3) showed weak relationships to rice plant age, with R2 values of 0.3325, 0.0973, and 0.3994, respectively.
However, using multiple bands of Landsat ETM+ as a vegetation index gave a better relationship between rice
plant age and rice spectral than was obtained utilising a single band. All vegetation indexes evaluated in this
study showed a strong relationship with rice age. The Rice Growth Vegetation Index (RGVI) that was developed
in this study gives the best relationship, with R2 = 0.9045, followed by TVI, NDVI, SAVI, IPVI, DVI, and RVI,
with R2 values of 0.8702, 0.8259, 0.8254, 0.8250, 0.7929, and 0.6855, respectively.
The advantage of using a vegetation index compared to use of a single band was to reduce the spectral data to a
single number that is related to physical characteristics of vegetation (e.g., leaf area, biomass, productivity,

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photosynthetic activity, or percent cover) (Baret & Guyot 1991, Huete 1988) while minimising the effect of
internal (e.g., canopy geometry, and leaf and soil properties) and external factors (e.g., sun-target-sensor angles,
and atmospheric conditions at the time of image acquisition) on the spectral data (Baret & Guyot 1991, Huete
and Warrick 1990, Huete & Escadafal 1991).
3.2 Rice plant mapping
According to the statistical analysis of the relationship between rice spectral and rice age, RGVI was the best
vegetation index to explain rice age due to the fact that it had the highest value of R2 as well as the lowest value
of analysis of variance (Sig) and standard error of estimation (SE) (Table 6). Therefore, the exponential equation
form of RGVI was used for rice plant mapping with the following equation:
(9)

where y, e, and x are the rice age, the natural logarithm, and the RGVI, respectively.
Rice plant age was estimated using Equation 9 in two sequential acquisition dates of Landsat ETM+. The pixels
that had the same difference values between predicted rice age in two sequential acquisitions dates, and the day
distinction of two sequential acquisitions dates, were classified as a rice plant area after standard error of
estimation was included (Equation 8).
Figure 5 and Table 7 show the distribution of the rice area resulting from classification process using Equation 8.
The map on Figure 5 not only describes the distribution of rice plants but also their age. This information is
important to estimate the total amount of rice plants that can be harvested.
Rice fields in our study area had a narrow area mixed with other land uses, such as settlement, which is different
from most characteristics of rice fields in other countries. The small area of rice plant is one of the challenges of
mapping rice plants using remote sensing data. Therefore, use of Landsat ETM+ data with a 30-m spatial
resolution is more comfortable and appropriate in our study area than the use of a coarser spatial resolution of
remote sensing data, such as MODIS and NOAA AVHRR data.
3.3 Quantitative evaluation of Landsat-derived rice map
Evaluation of Landsat ETM+ accuracy quantitatively for rice plant distribution mapping was performed by
comparing the total area derived from Landsat ETM+ to the data released by the Statistic Center Agency. The
agriculture department of the local government did not publish the spatial data for land that was being planted
with rice; therefore, the study results were carried out using a district-level comparison. Table 8 shows the
comparison of total rice area between analysis results of Landsat ETM+ and reference data.
Based on Table 8, estimation results of total rice plants that were being planted in our study area is
under-estimation for all districts, except for the Kerambitan district. For the districts of Selemadeg, Pupuan,
Tabanan, Kediri, Marga, Penebel, and Baturoti, total of estimation area from the Landsat data was lower, in the
amounts of 13.09%, 16.25%, 4.59%, 12.25%, 11.40%, 13.55% and 5.69%, respectively, compared to the Statistic
Center Agency data. However, in the Kerambitan district, estimation results from Landsat images were greater
than the reference data (around 7.69%). The under-estimation for almost all of the rice area obtained from Landsat
image compared to the data from the local government caused by some of the Landsat rice pixel contained several
objects besides rice plant. The mixed pixel can decrease the accuracy of the calculation (Strahler et al, 2006). Xiao
et al. (2005) has carried out the same phenomena using MODIS data, and they found that the estimation result of
the rice field area in the Southern China using MODIS imaging was lower than the references data.
The estimated rice area of Landsat ETM+ and reference data shows a strong relationship. The determination
coefficient (R2) was 0.971 using the equation y = 0.920x - 3.841, where y was estimation area from the Landsat
ETM+, and x was the reference data (Figure 6). The standard error of the estimation was 43.04 ha.
4. Conclusions
The visible band of Landsat ETM+ (Band 1, Band 2, and Band 3) showed a weak exponential relationship to rice
age; however, the reflective infrared band of Landsat ETM+ (Band 4 and B5) and the entire vegetation index
showed a strong exponential relationship to rice age. Use of vegetation indexes to monitor and map rice plants
gives better results than use of a single band of Landsat ETM+. A Rice Growth Vegetation Index (RGVI) was a
new vegetation index developed in this study. RGVI is a better vegetation index to describe rice age than existing
vegetation indexes. The relationship between rice age and RGVI has shown the highest determination coefficient
(R2) with the equation , where y and x are the rice age and RGVI, respectively. Quantitative
comparison of rice plants between analysis results and reference data showed a linear relationship with the

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equation y = 0.920x - 3.841 and R = 0.971, where y was the rice plant area of reference data, and x is the rice plant
area of the analysis results of the Landsat ETM+. The standard error of this estimation is 43.04 ha. Landsat ETM+
has good capabilities to monitor and map rice plants.
Abbreviations
AVHRR = Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
B1, B3, B4, B5, B7 = Band-1, Band-3, Band-4, Band-5, Band-7
BPS = Biro Pusat Statistik (Statistical Center Agency)
cDN = Corrected Digital Number
DEM = Digital Elevation Model
DN = Digital Number
DVI = Difference Vegetation Index
ETM+ = Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus
IPVI = Infrared Percentage Vegetation Index
IRRI = International Rice Research Institute
MODIS = Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
NDVI = Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
NIR = Near-infrared
NOAA = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RGVI = Rice Growth Vegetation Index
RVI = Ratio Vegetation Index
SAVI = Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index
SE = Standard Error
SLC = Scan Line Corrector
TVI = Transformed Vegetation Index
VI = Vegetation index
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Table 1. Description of the field observation location

Site Site Coordinate Elevation Plantation Rice

Code Name X Y (m asl) Date Variety
K1 Kediri-1 289310 9048966 46 12-Jun-2005 Ciherang
K2 Kediri-2 288746 9049668 38 23-May-2005 Ciherang
K3 Kediri-2 289833 9050236 52 8-Jun-2005 Ciherang
M1 Marga-1 297438 9056641 168 15-Jul-2005 Ciherang
M2 Marga-2 297777 9056203 163 13-Jul-2005 Ciherang
M3 Marga-3 298158 9057479 171 7-Jul-2005 Ciherang
P1 Penebel-1 292220 9064219 287 20-Jul-2005 Ciherang
P2 Penebel-2 291817 9063737 266 24-Jul-2005 Ciherang
P3 Penebel-3 292487 9063358 272 27-Jul-2005 Ciherang
Table 2. Spectral ranges and spatial resolutions of Landsat 7 ETM+ bands
Band Spectral range Spatial
Band divisions
number (m) resolution (m)
1 Blue 0.450.515 30
2 Green 0.5250.605 30
3 Red 0.630.690 30
4 Near-infrared 0.750.90 30
5 Mid-infrared 1.551.75 30
7 Mid-infrared 2.092.35 30
Table 3. Value of 0(1), S0(2), and a(3) for every spectral Landsat Band

Band 0 S0 (Wm-2m-1) a
ETM1 0.5 1997 0.7757
ETM2 0.3 1812 0.7957
ETM3 0.25 1533 0.6192
ETM4 0.20 1039 0.9655
ETM5 0.125 230.8 0.1257
ETM7 0.075 84.9 0.0437
Sources: (1) Dozier (1989); (2) Chander et al. (2009); (3) our image with calculation
Table 4. Value of d(1), 0 (2), and Kl(3) for every acquisition date of Landsat ETM+

Kl
Acquisition date Path Row DOY d 0
ETM1 ETM2 ETM3 ETM4 ETM5 ETM7
26 April 2002 116 66 116 1.00626 0.79414 51 31 23 20 17 11
21 May 2002 166 66 141 1.01210 0.75100 53 32 22 23 19 14
7 July 2005 117 66 188 1.01669 0.71514 52 34 22 25 21 11
1 August 2005 116 66 213 1.01497 0.74624 50 31 23 19 16 12
17 August 2005 116 66 229 1.01244 0.78085 53 33 23 22 18 13
24 August 2005 117 66 236 1.01103 0.80312 55 35 24 23 15 10
4 October 2005 116 66 277 1.00033 0.88006 54 34 24 21 17 12
12 November 2005 117 66 316 0.98983 0.90081 52 31 22 24 21 11
Sources: (1) Chander et al (2009); (2) our image with calculation; (3) DN of our image. DOY is day of year

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Table 5. Several existing vegetation indices used in the study

No Vegetation Index Formula

1 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

2 Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI)

3 Infrared Percentage Vegetation Index (IPVI)

4 Difference Vegetation Index (DVI)

5 Transformed Vegetation Index (TVI)

6 Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI)

Where nir, r, and L are near infrared band, red band, and canopy background brightness correction factor,
respectively.
Table 6. Value of determination coefficient, significant and standard error of relationship between rice spectral
and rice age
Rice Spectral R2 Sig SE
cD1 0.3325 0.081 0.787
cD2 0.0973 0.380 0.915
cD3 0.3994 0.050 0.746
cD4 0.8254 0.000 0.402
cD5 0.8999 0.000 0.305
cD7 0.6847 0.003 0.541
NDVI 0.8259 0.000 0.402
RVI 0.6855 0.003 0.540
IPVI 0.8250 0.000 0.403
DVI 0.7929 0.001 0.438
TVI 0.8702 0.000 0.347
SAVI 0.8254 0.000 0.402
RGVI 0.9045 0.000 0.297
Table 7. Rice plant area of analysis results in each district
District nPixel Area (ha)

Kerambitan 6701 603.09

Selemadeg 7812 703.08
Pupuan 884 79.56
Tabanan 2152 193.68
Kediri 5762 518.58
Marga 3091 278.19
Penebel 1585 142.65
Baturiti 2149 193.41

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Table 8. Comparison in district levels of rice area between analysis result of Landsat ETM+ and reference data

Analysis Reference Difference

District (%)
Result (ha) data (ha)

Kerambitan 603.09 560 7.69%

Selemadeg 703.08 809 -13.09%
Pupuan 79.56 95 -16.25%
Tabanan 193.68 203 -4.59%
Kediri 518.58 591 -12.25%
Marga 278.19 314 -11.40%
Penebel 142.65 165 -13.55%
Baturiti 193.41 242 -20.08%

Figure 1. Location map of the study area

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In situ data survey and reference data Multi-temporal Landsat ETM+

Preprocessing (geometric and radiometric correction, masking)

Existing vegetation index (VI) RVI, Development of a new VI:

NDVI, IPVI, DVI, TVI, SAVI Rice Growth Vegetation Index (RGVI)

Regression analysis, the relationship

between vegetation index and age of rice
plants for one life cycle of rice plants

Best relationship between vegetation

index and rice age

Calculating two rice plant map Selecting two Landsat image in

in sequential acquisition date sequential acquisition date

Calculating map of the rice Calculating difference of

plant age difference (age) acquisition date in days (t)

Comparing age and t

Rice plant and its age map

Quantitative comparison of
Landsat-derived rice map and reference data

Figure 2. Data analysis procedure used in this study

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Figure 3. Relationship between rice cDN of Landsat ETM+ and rice age

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Figure 4. Relationship between rice vegetation index and rice age

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(a) (b)
Figure 5. Rice plant distribution map of the study area from the analysis of Landsat ETM+ data (b) and false
colour composite of Landsat ETM+ (a)

Figure 6. District-level comparison of the rice area from the Landsat ETM+ and the data from the local
government

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